Q&A – Homosexuality and the Bible

Question: I heard a theologian say that the Bible does not condemn homosexual behavior and that those who say it does are nothing more than right-wing fundamentalist homophobes. What do you think Scripture says on this subject?

Answer: It doesn't really matter what I think. What matters are the inspired words written on that subject in both the Old and New Testaments. Let me quote a few of them, and then you can draw your own conclusions:

LEVITICUS 18:22: Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

LEVITICUS 20:13: If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.

JUDGES 19:22-23: While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we [Benjamites living in Gibeah] can have sex with him." The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, don't be so vile."

1 KINGS 14:24: There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land [Rehoboam was king at the time]; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

1 KINGS 15:12: He [King Asa] expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land [Judah] and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made.

1 KINGS 22:46: He [King Jehosophat] rid the land [Judah] of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa.

2 KINGS 23:7: He [King Josiah] also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes, which were in the temple of the Lord and where women did weaving for Asherah.

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9-10: Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 TIMOTHY 1:9-11: We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers--and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

JUDE 1:7: In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Obviously, these Scriptures leave little room for debate, especially when considered in the light of Romans 1, quoted earlier. The only way their message can be negated is to reject the authority of God's Word. Please note, however, that many similar texts condemn heterosexual promiscuity with equal fervor as homosexual behavior. Immorality is immoral whether it occurs between people of the same sex or those of the opposite sex. In both cases, our responsibility is to call sin by its name and to admonish men and women to live in purity and holiness.

By Dr. James Dobson